Chapter Text
11. NOW THAT I FOUND YOU, THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
The Present | July 20, 2021
“Hyejin-ah!” Dusik waved at the woman walking out of the building.
Hyejin smiled as soon as she saw Dusik leaning on his car and ran towards him. “Let’s go.”
Dusik opened the car door for her before running to the driver’s seat. Ever since their reconciliation, they had been inseparable. Dusik had been picking her to and from work, they had been eating meals together, and they had been spending their free time together.
“How did it go?” Dusik asked as he stepped on the accelerator.
Hyejin smiled widely. “Great. I told my parents that I will set-up my own design company without their help… they tried to oppose me though, but I didn’t let them. I stood up for my plans this time.”
Dusik sighed in relief. “Congratulations, Hyejin-ah! Wasn’t it scary?”
Hyejin sighed. “It was terrifying! You know abeoji could be really strict when it comes to business matters. But I told them to trust me and they have educated me well enough to do great things on my own… that seemed to hit the spot.”
“That’s true though. They have given you adequate education and guidance for years… you are capable.”
Hyejin squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you, Dusik-ah… I also submitted a leave of absence for a year to build my company. Oppa will be coming home soon anyway.”
“Good thing they approved?”
“Yeah… I didn’t want to completely resign from our firm because I’ve become attached to my interior design team, and I’m the boss there anyway. I just need a year to build my own company to partner with our firm.”
Dusik hummed. “So after a year, you’ll be managing your own company and your firm’s interior design team?”
“Sounds difficult, right? But I don’t want to give up any of them, I believe I can do it.”
“I am proud of you.. I also believe in you.”
Hyejin leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “Oh! I just remembered.. they are asking if we are dating again..”
Dusik glanced at her. “Are we dating again..?”
Hyejin scoffed. “I’m not that easy, you know. You have to win me back.”
Dusik laughed. “Oh, trust me, that’s easy.”
“Yah!” Hyejin smacked him on his shoulder.
Dusik pretended to be hurt and laughed. “I missed this. I missed us.”
“Five long years.. how did we survive?”
“Barely.” Dusik then slowed down as they approached the parking lot of the restaurant. They had previously agreed to have dinner together. “Hyejin-ah..”
“Hmm?” Hyejin looked at him as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“I’m going back to Gongjin tomorrow.. Since we’ve already done our part in the project. I want to take a break for a while.” Dusik said. They had already submitted all the designs for Chairman Lee’s home and the construction would start soon.
“Hmm that’s a good idea. You should rest.”
Dusik reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. “Will you come with me? To Gongjin?”
Hyejin looked at their intertwined hands. “Hmm.. why?”
“I want to be with you.. everyday.”
Hyejin could feel herself blushing. “But you’ve been doing that already.”
“Yeah, so please? Come with me to Gongjin?”
Hyejin smiled. “Alright. I’ll ditch work for you.”
Dusik beamed at her. “YAY! That was easy..”
“Yah!” Hyejin smacked him again.
Dusik laughed and pulled her into a playful kiss.
The Present | July 21, 2021
Hyejin was grumpy as Dusik drove to Gongjin. He picked her up at five in the morning, barely letting her to shower and prepare for the trip since he wanted to see the sunrise on the way. He was in the best mood, though, as he was singing along to the song on the radio as the sun started to appear on the blue sky.
“Hyejin-ah, stop moping around.. it’s a beautiful morning!” Dusik said and laughed at her disheveled appearance.
Hyejin pouted. “I barely slept and took a shower and you barely let me choose my clothes.” She was only wearing a pair of hoodie and track pants with mismatched socks and slippers.
“You won’t be needing them anyway.” Dusik mumbled.
“Yah! I knew it! You’re planning something!” Hyejin eyed him and protectively wrapped her arms around her body.
Dusik scoffed. “Who was the one who straddled me on the couch? At her penthouse?”
“I didn’t do that! I just needed to sit down!”
“On my lap? While kissing me?” Dusik teased. “You’ve been inviting me to your penthouse every night and I didn’t say anything.”
“I won’t invite you again!” Hyejin pouted.
Dusik chuckled and squeezed her thigh. “We’ll see about that.”
“Yah!”
They arrived in Gongjin with an even grumpier Hyejin due to Dusik’s non-stop teasing. He carried their bags to his house as Hyejin stomped inside.
“Hyejin-ah..” Dusik placed down the luggage once they were inside and hugged her from the back. “Don’t be grumpy… I’m sorry for teasing you.”
“Make me some breakfast and I’ll forgive you.”
“Yes ma’am! Your favorite pancakes and milk coming up!” Dusik jokingly saluted at her.
Hyejin laughed as she watched Dusik march to the kitchen. She then decided to lie down on the couch and take a nap.
Dusik woke Hyejin up after an hour, with the smell of pancakes, warm milk, and coffee in the air. The hearty breakfast seemed to take away her grumpiness.
“I missed this, Dusik-ah! This is soo good!” Hyejin said as she munched on her pancakes.
Dusik smiled as she watched her, he also missed mornings like this. “Hyejin-ah… I was thinking earlier while I was cooking..”
“What about?” Hyejin said as she took another bite of the pancake.
“I wanna expand Namoo Woodworks, too, and I wanna invest in your future company.”
Hyejin took a swig of her milk and thought about the idea intently. “Oh… that’s a good idea. My company will do the designs and yours will execute them.”
Dusik nodded. “I promise I won’t interfere with your interior design kingdom, though. I am just a partner.”
Hyejin clasped her hands together. “Good. I really want to do it by myself… Actually, I’m thinking of pulling out our interior design team from our firm, in the future, when I am more capable. So when I have my own design company, we’ll be the exclusive and official partner for the interior design.”
“Oh, that’s why you didn’t want to give it up now.”
Hyejin sat back and crossed her arms together. “Yeah, as you said, that’s my kingdom. That may be my parents firm but I built that team from the ground up.”
Dusik smiled. “You awe me, Director Yoon.”
Hyejin smiled and felt the inspiration and determination in her veins. She knew that this would be a very difficult journey, it would surely take more than a year, but she believed that she could do it, she had herself.
“Hyejin-ah, let’s watch our documentary later.” Dusik said after finishing their breakfast.
“It’s premiering today?”
Dusik nodded. “Ji PD told me yesterday, I ran into him at your firm. He was looking for you but you were in a meeting.”
“Oh.. I’ll call him later. Let’s watch it then.”
“It’s premiering later at five in the afternoon.”
Hyejin thought for a while. “Let’s watch our first documentary then.”
“All of a sudden?”
“Yes, now I’m gonna wash the dishes so we can watch right after!” Hyejin jumped to her seat and gathered the dirty plates.
Dusik stopped her. “Let me, you’re a guest here.”
Hyejin scoffed. “Wow, a guest? That’s offensive. So how many guests did you cook breakfast for?”
Dusik chuckled. “None.”
“Oh, so you’ve had guests?” Hyejin placed her hands on her waist.
“I didn’t say that.” Dusik teased, stopping himself from smiling.
Hyejin rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Do the dishes then, I don’t care.”
Dusik chuckled as Hyejin stomped away.
After consoling a grumpy Hyejin, both of them watched their documentaries while curled up on the couch. They laughed, cried, and cringed at their past selves. It was amazing to see how far they had come now and how much they had changed. Twelve years was indeed a very long time.
“Hyejin-ah, stay here for a week?” Dusik asked as he held Hyejin in his arms.
“Hmm? Why are you so clingy all of a sudden?” Hyejin tried to mask the giddiness she felt deep inside.
“Watching our old documentary made me miss us more. I wanna be that happy with you again. I wanna win you back again.”
“What are we going to do for a week here?”
Dusik tightened his hold around Hyejin. “Let’s retrace our steps. Let’s fall in love again.”
Hyejin smiled. “Okay.”
Both of them knew that this was not necessary to fall back in love agains ince the love they had for each other was still there, as deep as before. However both of them wanted to look back at the good times and places that made their young hearts flutter.
Perhaps this time, the love that they were going to have would be stronger and better than before.
The Present | July 27, 2021
It amazed both of them at how easy they fell back into each other’s arms. The little moments they had returned as easily as their feelings for each other. They fought over washing the dishes, they argued over who was going to shower first, Hyejin stole some of Dusik’s clothes, Dusik ruined Hyejin’s hair after she dried and styled it, Hyejin threw a fit and chased Dusik around, and when she caught him, he apologized by hugging and kissing her.
Everything felt normal, everything fell back into their right places, as if the five-year separation never happened. Hyejin and Dusik found each other again.
It had been a week since Hyejin stayed in Gongjin with Dusik, and everything was pure bliss. They toured around the town and reconnected with their old friends. Yun-gyeong was ecstatic to see them. It turned out that she married Geum-cheol, and they had a beautiful daughter together.
The two of them also visited Hwa-jeong and Nam-suk’s restaurants, and got free meals from the owners. Cheon-jae’s café was a little special though, they reminisced their first meeting here. After chatting the evening away with Cheon-jae and his daughter, Juri, the two of them then went for an evening walk along the shore.
“How’s your grandparents?” Dusik asked as they passed by the old house of Hyejin’s grandparents.
“They’re good. Enjoying their retirement to the fullest.” Hyejin answered and smiled. Five years after her visit in Gongjin, her grandparents went to live with her aunt in Jeju for their retirement. Hyejin’s aunt, her mom’s older sister, owned a resort in the island.
“I envy them…” Dusik sighed. “I can’t wait to retire.”
Hyejin chuckled. “We still have a few decades to go.”
“That’s true.” Dusik then slowly intertwined their hands. “I wanna spend the coming years with you.”
Hyejin smiled. “Hong Dusik, you’re getting a little too fast in there.”
“I know, I know. We’ll go slowly, I just want to tell you that I am sure that I want to spend my years with you.”
“You still have to win me back, though.”
Dusik smiled. “Follow me.”
He then pulled her towards the hill, they slowly traversed the slope with the moonlight guiding them. Hyejin gasped as she saw Dusik’s grandfather’s boat on top of it. Strings of light surrounded the boat, and there was a small canopy on top of it.
“This is your grandfather’s boat!” Hyejin exclaimed. “How— why is it here?!”
“A few years after I went back here, I decided to put it up here instead of being left unattended on the sea… I spent a good amount of money getting it up here you know.” Dusik said as he helped Hyejin climb the boat.
“This is so pretty!” Hyejin marvelled at the lights and the small table and bench on the boat. “You prepared all of these?”
Dusik nodded. “Reminds you of the old times?”
Hyejin also nodded and smiled, reminiscing the countless of surprise picnics that Dusik had set-up for her. “Reminds me of the old Dusikie.”
Dusik then prepared the lunchboxes he prepared beforehand. Hyejin squealed at the cute designs of the food - there were hearts, animals, and stars.
“Eat up!”
The two of them ate their dinner heartily over stories and jokes. Hyejin laughed freely and Dusik felt so glad watching her be happy because of him again.
“What?” Hyejin then asked when she noticed Dusik just staring at her. “Dusik-ah?”
“Oh.. uhm.. I’m just happy. I feel happy to be with you again.”
Hyejin then reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I’m also happy to be with you again.”
“Hyejin-ah, I still have a lot of things to figure out about myself. I still get insecure from time to time, I still don’t know if I can give you the world, but I want to. My parents are still absent in my life, unlike yours. I’m still imperfect and I lack a lot of things.” Dusik then heaved a deep breath and kneeled in front of Hyejin. “Despite all of that, the only thing I’m sure of is my love for you. I know I don’t have much but I love you with everything that I have. I want to be with you… for a long time. Will you be mine again?”
Hyejin wiped the tears that trickled on her cheeks. “Dusik-ah, I’m also scared that we’ll fall back to our old mistakes.. but I’m willing to work this out for you. So yes, I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
Dusik sniffed as he let his tears flow, hearing Hyejin’s words greatly comforted him. After a long time, he was home again.
Hyejin cupped his face and leaned forward, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. They took their time as they kissed their longing away, they took their time as they were sure that both of them wouldn’t be going anywhere. It seemed like they had all the time in the world, and this time, they really did.
The Past | June 28, 2009
“Oh? Dusik-ah?” Hyejin was surprised to see Dusik standing stiff outside Hyejin’s house, waiting for her. He was dressed in a dress shirt and pants.
“Good morning, Hyejin-ah.” Dusik said, almost stuttering.
“What are you doing here?” Hyejin asked as she went out and closed their gate. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“I just want to pick my g-girlfriend up.” Dusik looked down, feeling shy.
Hyejin chuckled. “Halmeoni’s store is just a few steps away, you know.”
“Still.” Dusik scratched the back of his head. “Let’s go.”
Hyejin nodded. “I didn’t know you’re such a romantic.”
Dusik laughed. “I was supposed to get you flowers, but the flower shop was still closed… and the ahjummas would whack me if I picked the flowers on their yard.”
Hyejin chuckled. “That’s okay, it’s the thought that counts.”
“Have lunch and dinner with me later.” Dusik said, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Okay, I’ll stay with you the whole day.” Hyejin teased.
“It’s just— We got together so late yesterday. Technically it’s hour first day together. It’s not been 24 hours..”
“That’s true… I should’ve dressed a little better.” Hyejin said, looking down at her simple dress.
“You’re always beautiful.” Dusik smiled at him and Hyejin has to suppress the squeal that threatened to come out of her.
The Past | July 5, 2009
One week after being together though, Dusik visited her late at night. Hyejin rushed outside, wondering what’s so urgent.
“What happened?!” Hyejin asked as she found Dusik panting outside their gate. They were both in their sleepwear, he really must have rushed there as he was wearing mismatched slippers.
“Hyejin-ah, I’m sorry for calling you out late at night.” Dusik was fidgeting, and it was making her antsy.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Hyejin held him by his shoulders and checked his appearance.
“Hyejin-ah, there’s this weird feeling that’s been bugging me the whole day.”
Hyejin titled her head and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Hyejin-ah, I think I love you.”
“Oh…” Hyejin froze, feeling the tingles creep up to her cheeks and heart.
“I love you that way. I’m in love with you, Hyejin-ah.”
Hyejin smiled, but she wanted to cry. Dusik had always worn his heart on his sleeve. She kissed him softly yet firmly that night, asking him to wait for her, to be patient with her.
It took Hyejin a month to lower all of her walls down, to say I love you back. However Dusik never complained, he had always waited for her, patiently, slowly.